Treasure Island Drops Caddy's Beach Ownership Issue

Pop the cork. Crack open a cold one. The beach behind Caddy's once again is under control of the bar owner – and no one is going to dispute that.

The Treasure Island City Commission dropped the issue at the recommendation of attorneys.

The beach behind Caddy's was one of the few places where the was not enforced.

Sunset Beach Commissioner Alan Bildz had encouraged the commission to look into the matter of ownership of the beach property.

The Treasure Island Commission hired David Levin, an attorney, to study the matter, according to an article on Tampabay.com.

Levin was asked for his opinion on whether Tony Amico, owner of Caddy's, had legal rights to the land behind Caddy's, which had been deeded to him by the city in 2009.

Levin found that the city may not have had the rights to deed the land in the first place and that the ownership could only be determined by a court of law. He advised the city to stay out of the matter.

The Treasure Island City Commission decided last week against using taxpayer money to take the matter to court.

Bar patrons were not surprinsgly pleased that the strip of beach once again can be enjoyed by visitors who may want to drink a beer or other alcoholic beverage.

"I've always thought that the beachfront belonged to Caddy's. The situation seems to have been blown out of proportion," said Joe Russe, a patron of Caddy's.

Tony Amico was out of town and unavailable for comment.